Politics erupts over Cafe Coffee Day founder Siddhartha’s death, Congress accuses Modi government of ‘tax terrorism’

The shocking letter by Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha that he apparently left behind before bidding goodbye has set off a tirade of political attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress party has slammed the Narendra Modi-led government of “tax terrorism” and held it responsible for the death of the entrepreneur. The party on Wednesday moved an adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha and alleged that the Modi government has betrayed people who voted for a hassle-free economy.

Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib, Manish Tewari, said that harassment by the Income Tax officials led to the death of Siddartha. The debate over tax terrorism was triggered when Siddhartha’s letter, which is widely being circulated on social media since yesterday, claimed that he was under tremendous pressure from lenders. The 60-year-old businessman alleged that he was being harassed by the Income Tax department.

“This was very unfair and has led to a serious liquidity crunch,” he wrote.

READ MORE: CCD founder VG Siddhartha’s body found from Netravati river in Mangaluru

Siddhartha’s troubles began in 2017 when the Income Tax department officials raided his premises. In his letter, Siddhartha claimed that there was a lot of harassment from the previous DG income tax attaching “our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal”. He said that the I-T was even taking possession of Cafe Coffee Day shares, although the revised returns were filed.

Another Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that since the re-election in May this year, the Modi government was behind the country’s businessmen. “There is an old notion of government has no business in business and Modi in his pre-2014 election campaign made a big deal about it. Today he has absolutely betrayed the people who voted for him to see a robust, independent, hassle-free economy,” he said in a tweet.

Former Karnataka CM and Congress leader Siddaramaiah also lashed out at the BJP government and referred to the CCD founder’s letter to state that the incident has exposed an ugly face of ‘politically motivated’ institutions.

“The death of V G Siddhartha is both disturbing & mysterious. The reasons & the invisible hands that ended his life in this tragic way should be unearthed through impartial and fair investigation,” he said in a tweet.

“What signals are we sending to the budding entrepreneurs without even an attempt to reform?” the Congress leader added.

Party spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa said that the development has exposed the anti-people policies of the government. “VG Siddhartha Hegde, Founder of Cafe Coffee Day, home grown entrepreneur who gave 50,000 people a livelihood is no more. He was killed mercilessly by Tax Terrorists who are now seeking to besmirch his memory by selectively leaking material against him,” he said.

The Congress’ Karnataka unit in a separate tweet condemned the taxmen and described Siddhartha’s death as unfortunate. It said that companies that flourished under UPA are targetted by the NDA government.

“VG Siddhartha case is very unfortunate. Result of harassment by IT officials and decline of India’s entrepreneurial position turning virulent by the day, with Tax Terror and collapse of economy. Companies which flourished under UPA have been shut down with many people being jobless,” the party’s tweet from its official handle reads.

Siddhartha was missing since Monday night from Mangaluru. He was last seen near Netravati river en route to Mangaluru from Bengaluru. Next morning, a search operation was launched by the NDRF, Coast Guard and others in the river. His body was found at around 6.30 am on Tuesday morning. Siddhartha was also the son-in-law of former Karnataka CM and former Union minister SM Krishna.